How are you going to let your customers know about your products or services? How are they going to learn about your products' or services' benefits, and how are they going to get excited about purchasing them? Why will they choose yours versus the competition's?

Your marketing communication plan is about advertising, promotions, and public relations strategies. These factors focus on creating a compelling case for potential customers to buy your product or services instead of your competitors'. Think about the cola wars - Coca Cola vs. Pepsi. What image do they create to entice relationship with their target market? What kind of promotions do they run to increase sales? Advertising, promotions, and public relations are not mutually exclusive. They can go hand-in-hand and should have a cohesive objective.

But first you need to decide what you want to achieve. Do you want to increase market share, product trail, brand awareness, community goodwill, or do you want to educate your target market? Then you need to decide what communication vehicle(s) you will use to achieve your objectives. Will advertising, promotions, or a public relations campaign help you obtain your goals? What kind of mix will you use? Once you have decided what type of communication vehicle(s) you are going to use, you need to choose the type of media that would be most effective to deliver your message. Would it be TV, radio, newspaper, flyers, or email? Finally, you need to determine how you will measure your progress and achievement. Your marketing communication strategy is a dynamic action plan that is constantly changing with the circumstance of your business.

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